Microsoft has long been rumored to be working on a flagship
Surface Phone. The Redmond technology firm had planned to release a
version of the Surface Phone back in 2012, sources told BGR and
The Wall Street Journal.
Those plans were scrapped as Microsoft acquired Nokia’s
smartphone business. Built by the team behind the hugely-successful
Surface Pro and Surface Book devices, the smartphone is rumored to
be set for a 2017 launch. That's because the Surface Phone is
believed to be closely tied to the next blockbuster Windows 10
update, codenamed RedStone 2, which scheduled for April next year.
Surface fans thought they might have to wait until Build 2017 to
get a glimpse of the new gadget. But that is no longer the case. A
photo posted in the user forum of Baidu appears to offer the first
glimpse at the revived Surface Phone project.
According to BGR, the photograph is believed to be
authentic and comes from a source who has leaked accurate information
in the past.
The leaked render shows a Surface Phone with a keyboard cover that
appears to have similar functionality to the Touch Cover line of
accessories shipped with the Surface tablets. The Baidu post claims
the smartphone was set to have a 5.7inch touchscreen with 2K
resolution, powered by a Snapdragon 830 processor, and sporting a
20megapixel rear camera with a Carl Zeiss lens.
Since the fourth quarter of 2014, Microsoft has dropped from a 2.8
per cent share of the smartphone market – to just 1.1 per cent as
of the fourth quarter of 2015.
Gartner's latest smartphone sales report claims Windows Phones
have now dipped below 0.7 per cent overall market share. The Redmond
technology firm is increasingly moving focus to rival platforms,
releasing a touch-optimised version of Microsoft Office on iOS ahead
of its own smartphone platform, and now the US firm is retooling its
record-breaking keyboard for iPhone users, too.
Whether Microsoft can begin to turn around its dwindling market
share with the long-rumoured Surface Phone remains to be seen.
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